Blasphemous French black metal merchants Aosoth strike an impressive balance between haunting atmospherics and blistering ferocity on their aggressive 10-track offering ASHES OF ANGELS, retaining the classic made in a cave rawness furthering the album’s demonic texture in the process. Throwing an abundance of off-kilter dissonance predominant in much of the metal coming from France these days into their misanthropic blend of buzzing guitars and strained and sinister vocals (“Embrace and Enlightenment”, “Cries Out of Heaven”), Aosoth have comprised a formidable strand of despair and gloom that significantly stands out amongst the of corpsepainted warriors willing to perform the biddings of the lord from below. www.agoniarecords.com
- Mike SOS